Canadians grade themselves a 'C' in AI knowledge and proficiency, TD survey finds

New 2025 TD AI Insights Report reveals trust may be the key to closing Canada's AI confidence gap

TORONTO, June 17, 2025 /CNW/ - Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fast becoming integrated into Canadians' everyday lives. Yet when it comes to understanding and trusting the technology, there is room to grow. A new North American survey commissioned by TD ("TD" or the "Bank") and Ipsos reveals while many Canadians may be more capable with AI than they think, low levels of trust and limited familiarity could be holding them back from fully embracing its potential.

Disconnect in Confidence vs Competence

According to the 2025 TD AI Insights Report, while a large majority of Canadians polled (87 per cent) say they are comfortable learning, using, and adapting to new technologies, there is a notable gap between confidence and actual AI proficiency. When asked to self-assess their AI skills, only three per cent gave themselves an 'A' grade. Forty per cent ranked themselves in the middle of the spectrum with a 'C,' while 21 per cent rated themselves an 'F' and 18 per cent a 'D.'

However, when given a knowledge test, 72 per cent of Canadians passed, suggesting many possess a stronger understanding than they give themselves credit for. Moreover, younger Canadians, particularly Gen Alpha (44 per cent) and Gen Z (38 per cent) were most likely to be identified as the most knowledgeable generation when it comes to AI. Yet when it came to the knowledge test—such as recognizing AI's role in facial recognition technology—Millennials and Gen X outperformed them.

AI Feels Unfamiliar but Still Considered Useful

While 87 per cent of Canadians say they are comfortable using technology in general, there is room to improve with 40 per cent of Canadians admitting they are unfamiliar with AI. Younger generations, including Gen Z (83 per cent) and Millennials (71 per cent), are more likely to self-report they are more familiar with AI than do older generations, such as Gen X (61 per cent) and Boomers (38 per cent).

Still, for those using AI today, the benefits are clear with over half of Canadians (56 per cent) saying AI helps make everyday life easier. For employed Gen Z, 69 per cent say AI makes them more productive in their job, a number that drops to 50 per cent for Gen X and 38 per cent for Boomers. Moreover, 34 percent of employed Canadians admit using AI at work without their boss knowing, including 48% of Gen Z.

"While the survey suggest many Canadians appear to be comfortable adopting technology, AI still feels unfamiliar to many," says Christine Morris, Senior Executive Vice President, TD Bank Group. "That lack of familiarity matters. If people don't understand how a technology works or how it helps them, they're less likely to trust it. As AI becomes a bigger part of how we serve our customers, our responsibility is to make it understandable, approachable, secure, and grounded in their needs."

Trust is the Missing Piece

Despite growing usage, trust in AI remains low. According to the survey, trust in AI as a source of honest, reliable, and competent information is weak (43 per cent). Canadians express much higher trust in information from friends and family (90 per cent), pharmacists (89 per cent), and banks (81 per cent), while AI ranks below the news media (62 per cent), followed by social media influencers (19 per cent).

"At TD, we recognize that trust in AI isn't a given. It is earned through careful management and ongoing human oversight," says Luke Gee, Chief Analytics & AI Officer, TD Bank Group. "Doing what it takes to help maintain our clients' trust in AI remains at the forefront of TD strategy. Our team uses a robust, award-winning Trustworthy AI governance framework so our AI models meet our clients' needs, regulatory expectations, and ethical standards. As AI evolves, we will continue to responsibly explore how we can leverage the technology to improve the experiences of our colleagues and customers."

AI is a critical part of the TD strategy to empower customers with deeper insights into their financial decisions as they make everyday purchases or prepare for big life moments. This approach is fostered by the Bank as part of TD Invent, its strategic umbrella effort to power purposeful innovation across the Bank. For more information, visit the TD Stories page or learn more about TD's latest expansion of its AI research and development center, Layer 6.

About the Survey

The 2025 TD AI Report was completed by Ipsos and conducted between March 17th and 31st, on behalf of TD. For this survey, a sample of 2,500 were interviewed. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

About TD Bank Group

The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by assets and serves over 27.9 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Auto Finance Canada; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, TD Auto Finance U.S., and TD Wealth (U.S.); Wealth Management and Insurance, including TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities and TD Cowen. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 18 million active online and mobile customers. TD had $2.1 trillion in assets on April 30, 2025. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

SOURCE TD Bank Group